Slow And Steady
by ShisouEimin
Summary: After Jo breaks up with him, Kendall is completely miserable and Carlos hates it. Logan tells him to just be there, James tells him to wear tight pants but Carlos just wants Kendall to stop hurting.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush.**

**Part One-**

Carlos had been in love with Kendall since the fifth grade, probably longer if he really thought about it, but fifth grade was when he realized that he always wanted to be with Kendall. He would do anything and go anywhere the blond asked him to. Despite being in love with a boy, he never considered himself gay because it was just Kendall. Kendall could have three tentacles and one eye and Carlos would still love him. And it wasn't like he didn't still like girls. He did. He thought they were pretty, soft and smelled really nice.

It was just the way Kendall made him feel safe and just accepted him that had him falling for the other boy. He didn't expect Carlos to change or be anything he wasn't and when Carlos was around Kendall, he just felt happy. Nothing made him happier than spending time with Kendall. The fact that Kendall would never love him the same way didn't really bother him either as long as Kendall remained his friend. He could be content with that if Kendall was happy.

Except Kendall wasn't happy. Not anymore. And it tore at Carlos not knowing what was wrong. The blond had just stormed into the apartment and disappeared into his room without saying anything to them. "Should one of us go check on him?" He turned towards the other two boys worriedly. Their eyes snapped to him from staring at the spot Kendall had disappeared from view.

"Well, yeah, probably," Logan started then glanced at James as he shifted back on the couch.

"But he looked really pissed off," James added, with a side glance towards Logan before suddenly shouting, "One, two, three, not it," as he flung himself back into the cushions.

"Not it," Logan echoed and Carlos' eyes widened in surprise before he punched them both in the arm.

"You guys are jerks," he said as he pushed himself up from the couch. It wasn't like he wouldn't have gladly gone to check on Kendall if they didn't want to.

When he got to their bedroom door, Carlos turned the knob, not at all surprised when he found it locked. He knocked and waited, but when there's no response from the other boy, "Kendall," he said, knocking again. "Open the door."

"Go away, Carlos."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Did you get into another fight with Jo?" He waited for a response but when nothing came, he prodded, "Kendall?"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it, Carlos!" Carlos jolted in surprise at Kendall's angry tone, "Why do you always have to be so fucking stubborn!"

Carlos scowled at the door after the initial shock. Kendall must have been extremely upset to snap at him so quickly. He usually had more patience with Carlos, another reason why he adored Kendall so much. "Fine, be that way," he said and kicked the door, "But this is my room too, you have to let me in sometime."

He turned around and stalked off, but only got about halfway down the hall before he heard the door open behind him. "Wait," he heard Kendall say and turned to see the blond looking out at him between a crack in the door, "Carlos, I'm sorry."

Carlos took a few steps back towards the room and frowned as he noticed that Kendall's eyes were red, proof that he had been crying. "What happened?"

"Jo broke up with me."

Carlos' eye widened in surprise, "What? Why?"

Kendall sighed heavily and leaned on the door, "I don't know. She said that a lot of things were changing in her life and she didn't want to be tied down and lose out on any opportunities or whatever."

"I'm sorry, man."

Kendall shrugged and let the door swing open wider, "Me too."

Carlos stood there wondering if hugging Kendall would be welcome but before he could decide Kendall turned away, walking back into the room but leaving the door open. Carlos immediately followed after him, closing the door behind him. The room was dark except for the small lamp on Kendall's desk. Carlos frowned as he watched Kendall crawl back into his bed, chest tightening as he tried to imagine what Kendall was feeling. He walked over to sit on the edge of his own bed facing Kendall's. The blond was lying facing the opposite direction and Carlos' eyes drifted along the length of Kendall's back until he was staring at the back of Kendall's head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kendall's shoulders heaved in a sigh, "No," was all he said and Carlos sighed in response.

"Okay," he said, nodding gently. He got to his feet and leaned over Kendall, reaching down to squeeze the other boy's shoulder gently, "If you want to talk though, you know I'm here for you."

Kendall glanced up at Carlos, corner of his mouth lifting in a brief wan smile, "Thanks, man."

* * *

><p>The next day, Carlos hung out in James and Logan's room, letting Kendall brood by himself in their room. He'd tried getting Kendall to talk again that morning but he was shut down once more. He hated that Kendall was in pain and he couldn't do anything to fix it. "Jo is stupid," he suddenly said, punching Logan's mattress.<p>

Logan chuckled, "You would say that," he said and Carlos turned his head towards the other boy. Logan sat at his desk, flipping through a magazine while Carlos lay sprawled on his bed.

Carlos scowled slightly, feeling his face heating up. "Shut up," he muttered. Logan was the only one that knew about his feelings for Kendall and not because he wanted Logan to know. Logan had figured it out on his own and confronted Carlos about it one day during lunch in the seventh grade. Carlos had been so worried that Logan hated him that he hadn't even tried to deny it. Fortunately, Logan hadn't hated him and Carlos had made him swear not to say anything about it. Even though Logan kept his promise throughout the years, he still tended to tease Carlos about it when he could.

"What?"

Carlos looked over at James to see the other boy looking at them in confusion. "Nothing," he muttered, feeling his face warm up further in embarrassment.

"Tell me," James insisted, pushing himself onto his elbows to try to stare Carlos down.

Carlos swallowed thickly and glanced at Logan, seeing him opening his mouth, "Shut up, Logan," he snapped, sitting up to glare at him.

Logan's mouth snapped shut and he looked at Carlos innocently, "What? I wasn't going to say anything," he said in a vaguely amused tone.

James sat up further and poked Carlos with his foot, one long leg reaching over the space between the beds to nudge at his thigh. "Tell me, Carlos, come on."

Carlos looked away, "It's nothing," he insisted, averting his gaze towards the ceiling. His face felt hot and he hated how embarrassed he was of how he felt about Kendall. But ever since he'd seen other guys being picked on for even _seeming _gay, he'd been afraid if anyone found out they'd hate him. He'd gotten lucky with Logan, but what if James stopped being his friend? He didn't like thinking that James would be that kind of person, but it was a risk he didn't want to take.

He heard Logan let out an exasperated sigh, "He's in love with Kendall," and his head shot up towards the other boy.

"Logan!"

Logan rolled his eyes and shrugged slightly, "What? It's James. He doesn't care."

Carlos glared at Logan for a moment before he turned back towards James. He licked his lips nervously when the other boy didn't say anything, "Do you hate me?"

James snapped out of his shocked state, "What, pfft, _ no._Why would I hate you? I was just thinking how that wasn't so perfectly obvious before now."

Logan laughed and Carlos blushed, "It is pretty obvious, right?"

Carlos huffed and crossed his arms before muttering sullenly, "I hate you guys."

* * *

><p>Half an hour later and James threw his pillow at Carlos. "So, are you going to ask him out or what?"<p>

Carlos sat up in surprise, hugging the pillow to his chest for a moment as he glared at James. "Kendall's not gay, remember? And he just broke up with Jo, why would I dump my feelings on him now," he retorted before throwing the pillow back.

It hit James right in the face but the other boy didn't get annoyed or angry like he normally would've. He just tossed the pillow aside before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed to lean towards Carlos. "Because he's miserable and needs to know that someone cares about him like that."

"But then Carlos would just be a rebound. You know those never last," Logan suddenly said from behind Carlos.

Carlos turned his head to glance at Logan briefly before he looked back at James, "Yeah, I don't want to just be a rebound for him."

"The best thing right now would be for Carlos to just be there for Kendall, help him through his break up until he's over Jo," Logan continued in his lecture voice. Carlos usually hated when Logan went into lecture-mode, but for once, he agreed whole-heartedly with what the other boy was saying.

But James just waved Logan's words off, "Pfft, I say Carlos goes out and buys a nice pair of tight pants and make him forget all about Jo right now."

Carlos exchanged a look with Logan before both boys turned to give James a bewildered look. "Tight pants," Logan questioned and Carlos could practically hear the arched eyebrow in his tone.

"Yeah, you'd be surprised how much a pair of tight pants can do," James explained, nodding his head in a sage-like manner.

"Somehow I doubt that."

Carlos let out a small laugh and fell back onto Logan's bed listening to James and Logan argued the benefits of wearing tight pants. He slowly tuned them out, not sure where they had gotten the idea that he wanted to win Kendall over. While he had thought about it before and he would be happy if Kendall were to ever return his feelings, it wasn't about that. He just wanted Kendall to stop hurting and to be happy again.

* * *

><p>Kendall kept himself locked in their room for almost a week, only coming out when they were needed at the studio and when Mrs. Knight forced him to come out and eat with the rest of them. Carlos felt like he was suffocating under the tension in their room the longer Kendall didn't talk about it. And no amount of prodding got him talking either and usually ended with Kendall snapping at Carlos and then apologizing right after. It hurt that Kendall didn't want to open up to him, but Carlos knew he just needed to give Kendall time. Waiting sucked but he knew in the end it would be worth it.<p>

Carlos lay sprawled on the couch, one leg hooked over the back and one hand behind his head as he surfed through the channels. There wasn't anything good on and normally he would just go down to the pool to hang out but he was waiting for Mrs. Knight to get back so they could make dinner. She'd just recently started letting him help out in the kitchen but only when she was around to make sure he didn't cut himself with a knife, burn down the apartment or whatever else she thought might happen.

He was slowly drifting off to sleep when he heard a small clatter coming from the kitchen. He bolted straight up, looking around wildly, heart pounding. He only relaxed when he saw Kendall standing in the kitchen, one arm held up towards the shelves where they kept the cups. "You scared the crap out of me, man!"

Kendall winced, "Shit, sorry, I was trying to be quiet so I wouldn't wake you."

Carlos shook his head and smiled, "It's cool. I wasn't trying to sleep anyway. I'm waiting for your mom to get back."

"Oh, okay…" Kendall looked around slowly, "Right, well, I was just getting some water," he said, shuffling over to the sink. Carlos heard the water rushing into Kendall's cup before the blond shut the water off. Kendall raised his cup to Carlos as he walked out of the kitchen, "Later."

Carlos watched the other boy, heart aching for him. It was the first time he'd seen Kendall out of bed on his own free will and he didn't want to have to wait another week for him to come out again. "Wait," he called out urgently, one arm outstretched towards Kendall as if he could reach out and grab Kendall to keep him from leaving.

Kendall stopped mid-step and looked over his shoulder at Carlos, one eyebrow raised curiously, "Yeah?"

Carlos bit his lip, "Um, want to help me make dinner? Your mom said I could do it tonight, but she's not back yet to supervise and I'm bored," he asked and then put on his most pitiful expression to help persuade Kendall to stay and help.

Kendall looked at him in silence for a moment before shrugging and looking away, "Sure, why not."

Carlos grinned and scrambled to his feet, "Great! Come on," he said, bouncing towards the kitchen. He heard Kendall place his glass of water on the table and glanced back to see the blond joining him in the kitchen. He had already set all the stuff he needed to make dinner out on the counter beside the stove. He quickly grabbed two pans and set them on the stovetop before he reached back into the cabinet for a pot.

"Fill this up with water," he said, holding it out to Kendall.

Kendall nodded and grabbed the pot, walking over to the sink. Carlos watched as Kendall set the pot down and turned the water on. The blond turned around to lean against the counter as he waited for it to fill up, "So, what are we making?"

Carlos grinned, "Spaghetti," he said, holding up the package of pasta and waving it a bit.

"Cool," Kendall said with a nod.

Silence stretched out between them and Kendall turned around to turn the water off before carrying the pot back to the stove and set it on one of the back burners. Carlos turned back towards the counter, finger tapping against the cool surface before he ran his fingers along the edge of one of the cans of tomato sauce.

"So, what now?"

"Oh! Um, there's some hamburger meat in the fridge, take it out and brown it in this pan and I'll get started on the sauce."

Kendall nodded and did as he was told while Carlos rummaged in one of the drawers for a can opener. They both settled into a comfortable silence as they went about their tasks. Carlos opened the cans of various tomato products he had bought to make the sauce and added them to the second pan. He carefully added the other ingredients needed to make the pasta sauce, making sure to measure out everything perfectly.

"Is that it?"

Carlos glanced up and saw Kendall just staring down at the hamburger meat in the pan. He laughed, "You can chop up some garlic for me, if you want," he said reaching over to grab two of the three white bulbs and holding them up for Kendall. "Well, actually, you kind of have to. Your mom doesn't trust me with sharp knives yet," he added with a chuckle.

Kendall laughed softly and nodded, "Right," he said and walked over to the other side of Carlos, grabbing the garlic from his hands as he walked passed. He set them down on the counter and went searching through the drawers. "So, what do I do?" He turned towards Carlos curiously after he found what he was looking for, a knife and cutting board.

"Cut them up into really tiny pieces," Carlos said as he stirred the sauce.

Kendall nodded then reached for the third little clove, "What about this one?"

"We're saving that one for later," Carlos said with a grin.

Kendall nodded then proceeded to peel the skin off of the cloves. Carlos turned towards the hamburger meat checking to see that it wasn't sticking to the pan. He poked it with his spoon, moving it around some before he covered it with a lid and made sure the heat wasn't too high. He then turned the burner on under the sauce and glanced over at Kendall. The blond looked intently down at the cutting board, hair falling into his eyes.

Carlos bit his lip, wondering if he should try to get Kendall to talk to him. It was too quiet and he didn't like it but he didn't want to annoy Kendall by being his usual energetic self. He just wished Kendall didn't seem so down. He understood why but Kendall wasn't being very Kendall-like and he didn't know what to do about it.

"How's that?"

Carlos shook his head slightly to rid himself of his thoughts and smiled widely, looking down at the cutting board, "Perfect," he said, reaching over to pull the cutting board towards himself. He lifted it carefully and pushed it all into the sauce, stirring it all in. "Now cut that last one up too but not as small," he ordered.

Carlos watched as Kendall silently did as he was told and licked his lips nervously, deciding to just go for it. Kendall could get annoyed with him all he wanted; Carlos was just worried about him. "So…how are you feeling?" His voice came out soft and hesitant, not sure how the other boy was going to react. But he wanted to know and even if Kendall ended up getting angry with him for prying, he had to try.

Kendall paused for a short moment and if Carlos hadn't been watching Kendall so intently, he probably wouldn't have noticed it. Kendall cleared his throat and shrugged, "Okay, I guess. I mean, I've been better, but I'll be okay," he said offering up a small half-smile.

Carlos didn't believe Kendall for a minute and he felt the familiar pang in his chest thinking about what Kendall must be feeling. He wished he could just take away Kendall's pain and replace it with something better. "You know that I'm here for you if you need me, right? If you want to talk or whatever."

Kendall smiled again and this one was a little more genuine which made Carlos smile in turn, "Yeah, I know. Thanks, man," Kendall said, giving a small nod of acknowledgement. He cleared his throat again and turned away from Carlos, looking back towards the cutting board, "So, what's with the garlic? Why are we waiting to put it in the sauce?"

A wide grin spread across Carlos' face and he couldn't help the giggle that escaped him. "If you put it into the sauce like _right_ before everything's done then it's like little, mini explosions in your mouth every time you bite into a piece. It's awesome."

Kendall let out a small chuckle and arched an eyebrow in amusement, "Yeah?"

Carlos nodded excitedly, "Yeah and if you don't tell anyone it's even better," he said with a laugh, "I can already see Logan and James' face. It's gonna be hilarious."

Kendall chuckled before he reached out to smack Carlos on the shoulder, "Dude, my mom and sister are going to eat this too, you know."

Carlos stared. "Oh. Right," he said, biting his bottom lip before he grinned sheepishly, "Uh, we can tell them about it before dinner. Or, oh, we'll just put some aside for them before we put it in."

Kendall nodded, "That sounds good," he said, an approving look on his face. They fell into a comfortable silence where Carlos unashamedly stared up at Kendall, tracing Kendall's features with his eyes. Kendall didn't seem to notice, his eyes downcast towards the pile of garlic pieces he chopped. Kendall eventually glanced up but the small smile that had been spreading across his features quickly disappeared as his eyes widen, "Carlos! The sauce!"

Carlos blinked in confusion before he turned around to see what Kendall was talking about. His eyes widened when he saw that the sauce was boiling over, splatters of red tomato sauce going everywhere. He instinctively reached for the handle of the metal pan, feeling little pinpricks of sauce splash onto his face and arms. The handle was hot and he winced loudly but kept his fingers wrapped around it as he quickly removed it from the burner. The sauce sloshed against the side, spilling over the side and onto the counter as he set it down quickly.

Kendall immediately grabbed Carlos' wrists, cradling Carlos' hands in his own as he looked down at them, "Are you okay?" He glanced up at Carlos worriedly as he ran his fingertips along the palm of Carlos' hands.

Carlos swallowed thickly and suppressed a shudder at the touch, nodding shakily, "Yeah, I-I'm fine…" he breathed out, staring up at Kendall. He tried not to concentrate too hard on the feel of Kendall's hands around his own, taking a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart.

Kendall suddenly laughed and Carlos' stomach flipped at the sound. It felt like forever since he'd last heard Kendall laugh like that, loud and raucous. Kendall reached forward and swiped his finger down Carlos' cheek. Carlos blinked in surprise and watched fixated as Kendall slid the finger into his mouth and sucked on it. "It's good, though," he said with a small smirk.

Carlos flushed slightly, "Your mom's going to kill us for this mess," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly as he turned away from Kendall to survey the mess on the stove top. It wasn't much but it was still going to be a hassle cleaning up all the little droplets of sauce that had splashed across it. "And she's never going to let me cook again," he added forlornly.

"Well, let's clean up before she gets here and she doesn't even have to know about it."

Carlos looked up to find Kendall smiling at him reassuringly and he nodded, smiling back, "Okay."

Kendall grinned and grabbed the paper towels, handing a few to Carlos. Together they quickly cleaned the mess and Carlos went to wash his face and try to get the small splashes of sauce out of his shirt in the sink. Kendall pressed along his side as he washed his hands as well and Carlos was surprised at how much lighter the air around Kendall felt as they playfully tried to push each other out of the way.

They were waiting for the water to boil to cook the spaghetti noodles when Mrs. Knight walked into the apartment. She stopped at the doorway when she caught sight of Kendall and Carlos in the kitchen. Her eyes immediately went to the stovetop, "Carlos, I thought I said to wait until I got back," she said as she closed the door behind her.

"Don't worry, Mom, I supervised and look- nothing blew up," Kendall said, spreading his arms to encompass the entire apartment.

Mrs. Knight laughed lightly, "Well, it's good to see you out and about. How are you doing, sweetie?"

Carlos glanced up at Kendall just in time to see his expression shut down and the tight smile Kendall sent his mother had Carlos' chest tightening. "I'm fine, mom. Don't worry about me," he said with a shrug.

Mrs. Knight smiled sympathetically and Carlos could see how much she wanted to comfort Kendall. Carlos could relate. He just wanted to pull Kendall into a hug and make him feel better. "Okay, well, since you two have dinner covered I'm going to go rest for a bit," she said, smiling at both of them as she disappeared through the doorway by the table.

He heard Kendall give a small sigh and glanced up at him, biting his bottom lip as he tried to decide if he should say anything or not. He hated not knowing what to do. "You okay?"

Kendall forced a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine," he said then pointed to the pot of water. "It's boiling."

Carlos' eyes widened slightly and he lurched forward, lowering the heat a little before he grabbed the package of pasta and tore it open. Settling the noodles carefully into the water, he watched Kendall out of the corner of his eye, mind whirring with ideas to make Kendall smile and mean it. Carlos needed Kendall to be happy and honestly, he felt a little lost without Kendall being the strong, confident boy he looked up to. But he didn't know what he could do other than just be there for Kendall when he needed him. And Kendall wouldn't even let him do that since he wouldn't even admit that he was hurting.

He let out a tiny sigh and glanced at Kendall as the blond put the cutting board and knife into the sink and resolved to find _some_ way to help Kendall get over Jo, whether the blond wanted it or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two-**

Carlos flung the door open to his and Kendall's room and ran over to Kendall's bed, where the blond was still bundled up under the blankets. He had been planning this for the past few days, just waiting for their next day off to implement it. He was proud of himself because he had thought of it all on his own and didn't ask Logan or James for advice at all. Kendall needed to have some fun and Carlos was the best person for the job.

"Get up, Kendall," he exclaimed, jumping onto Kendall's bed. He stood looking down at the other boy and jumped lightly to wake Kendall up. The other boy groaned from under the blankets and one arm emerged to swat at Carlos' leg.

"Go away, Carlos."

Carlos ignored him, stepping over Kendall so that he was standing with Kendall lying between his feet and jumped gently, "Come on, come on, we're going to the ice rink today!"

"Since when?"

"Since I said so."

"I don't feel like it."

"I don't remember asking," Carlos shot back almost immediately.

Kendall let out a groan, "Just leave me alone."

Carlos grinned and continued to bounce gently. Kendall made the occasional attempt at hitting him but otherwise stayed huddled under his blankets, which had Carlos worrying just a little. Normally, Kendall would've already tackled him to the floor or pulled him down to stop him. "Nope. Can't do that."

"Why not?"

Carlos finally stopped, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, "'Cause I miss you," he said simply. And he did. He missed Kendall so much. He missed his raucous laughter and the sly look on his face whenever he got an idea and the way he was just there, solid and being all Kendall-y. Now, Kendall hardly even smiled and he might as well have been back in Minnesota for all Carlos felt him. He hated it.

"What are you talking about," came Kendall's muffled voice, "I'm right here."

Carlos swallowed thickly, "No, you're not! All you do is lie around in bed feeling sorry for yourself. I miss having fun with you! Not to mention you haven't showered in like a week and that's just gross," He heard Kendall sigh but the blond didn't respond in any other way, "Come on, Kendall, _please_."

"I really don't feel like it, Carlos."

"But I already paid for the morning!" Carlos didn't want to have to tell Kendall that. He wanted Kendall to go because he _wanted _to go, but if he had to guilt Kendall into it then he wasn't below using it to his advantage.

Kendall flung the blankets off and looked up at Carlos with an annoyed expression on his face, "Why would you do that without asking first?"

Carlos grinned sheepishly, "I figured if I already put the money in then you couldn't say no. And come on, it's hockey! Since when do you say no to hockey?" Carlos dropped down to his knees beside Kendall and clasped his hands together, bottom lip sticking out as far as he could make it go, "Pleeeaase."

Kendall pressed his mouth together tightly, eyes hard and Carlos knew he had to take it a step further. He let his bottom lip wobble and made his eyes as big as he could, "_Please_."

Kendall eventually let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes, "Alright, fine, I'll go. Just stop that," he said, reaching out a hand to push Carlos' face away.

Carlos let out a whoop, "Go take a shower and shave that thing off your lip and I'll get our stuff together," he said excitedly slapping Kendall on the ass before he clambered off the bed. He grabbed his helmet from his bed and placed it on his head before he went to his dresser to grab some socks.

"It's called a moustache," Kendall grumbled from behind him.

Carlos laughed and glanced back over his shoulder, "Yeah, okay, whatever you say, Kendall," he said and stuck his tongue out at the other boy when Kendall shot him a dirty look on his way out of the room.

* * *

><p>About the tenth time his ass hit the ice, Carlos thought that maybe trying to take on all of Kendall's pent up aggression himself was maybe not the smartest move. He wasn't even sure Kendall realized how hard he was hitting him but he was hitting back just as hard and he knew they were both going to hurt later even through their pads.<p>

He looked up as Kendall skated over to him, "You okay?" he asked, looking down at him worriedly.

Carlos nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. S'why I wear the helmet," he said patting his head. Kendall just grinned and held a hand out down towards him. Carlos grabbed onto Kendall's hand and pulled himself up with a small grunt. He wobbled a bit when he got to his feet and Kendall laid a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"That gives me seventeen, three more points and you owe me lunch," Kendall said, patting Carlos on the shoulder with a smug grin on his face.

If Kendall hadn't seemed like he was having fun, Carlos might have regretted ever making that bet with him. But he'd much rather have a smug Kendall than a sad Kendall any day. "Hey, I'm not out yet, I still have time to catch up."

Kendall smiled wide, slow and easy and oh, so cocky. Carlos' heart rate sped up at the sight. "Sure you do, Carlitos. You have plenty of time. I mean, you're only down 6 points, that's not too bad," he said, squeezing Carlos' shoulder and giving him a gentle shake.

Carlos' eyes narrowed and he swatted Kendall's hand away, "That's it, you're going down," he said, bending over to grab his hockey stick and skated over to retrieve the puck from his goal. He didn't care how cute Kendall was, he wasn't going to let him win.

With that thought in mind and the puck in hand, he quickly skated over to where Kendall was waiting in the center of the rink. He set the puck down between them and readied himself, both hands on his hockey stick.

They stared each other down, eyes narrowed and determined, both leaning in slightly. Carlos felt his heart pounding in his chest as adrenaline surged through his veins. Kendall suddenly grinned throwing Carlos off balance as the other shouted, "Go!" Before Carlos knew it, Kendall was swooping around him, pushing the puck forward towards his goal.

Taking a quick second to catch his bearings, Carlos rushed after Kendall, shoving him aside roughly with his shoulder when he reached him. Kendall let out an indignant squawk as he flailed to catch his balance but by that time Carlos had already gotten control of the puck, directing it back towards Kendall's goal. It didn't take long before Kendall caught up with him though, and they glided across the ice, shoulders bumping and hockey sticks clacking together as Kendall tried to steal the puck from Carlos.

All Carlos could hear was Kendall's harsh breathing and his own soft grunts as he tried to shove Kendall away without dropping his stick or losing the puck. Suddenly, he was pitching forward, arms flailing as he cried out in surprise. The ice came rushing up to meet him and he hit it hard, unable to catch himself in time.

Carlos slid a bit across the ice, groaning as he came to a stop. He heard Kendall skating over towards him as Carlos pushed himself up into a sitting position. He brought both hands up to hold his head and shook it slightly. "Whoa, Carlos!" Kendall reached down and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him up. He placed both hands on Carlos' shoulders and asked for the second time that day, "You okay?"

Carlos brusquely brushed Kendall's arms off his shoulders, ears burning hot with embarrassment as his anger took over. "You tripped me!"

Kendall's eyes widened and he leaned away from Carlos, "What? No, I didn't! I mean, not on purpose."

Carlos angrily pointed at Kendall, "You tripped me with your stick, that's a penalty!"

Kendall laughed lightly in disbelief, "What? Come on, Carlos, it was an accident."

"I don't care," Carlos said, crossing his arms and glaring at Kendall. The fact that Kendall wasn't taking him serious just made him angrier, his bottom lip pushing out slightly in a frown.

"You're just mad because you're losing," Kendall said in a placating and amused manner.

Carlos scowled, "No, I'm not! I won't even make any goals while you're in the penalty box."

"What the- I'm not going into the box, Carlos. That's stupid! Who are you going to play with while I'm in there?"

"I'll play with myself." Kendall arched an eyebrow, corner of his mouth quirking in amusement and Carlos felt his face heat up, "Shut up, you know what I mean. Five minutes in the box!"

"Five? You're kidding, right? I'll stay in there two max."

"Fine," Carlos huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

Kendall rolled his eyes and skated away towards the penalty box. "Just for the record, I think this is really stupid," he called back over his shoulder. Carlos pouted petulantly, and skated away, his irrational anger ebbing away. He knew he was being stupid. Now he had nothing to do for the next two minutes but rules were rules and he just really hated the idea of losing to Kendall. He skated around the rink, pushing around the puck for a while until he heard Kendall call out to him.

"You're being ridiculous, you know," Kendall shouted and he stopped, chest heaving slightly as he looked over at the other boy.

He skated over towards the penalty box and leaned against the side of the rink, "It's just two minutes. Don't be a baby, Kendall."

Kendall laughed, "You're the one being a baby. You know I didn't mean to trip you, right?"

Carlos shrugged, eyebrows lifting slightly, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't." he sing-songed

The expression on Kendall's face looked like a cross between annoyed and amused. Amusement won out though and he shook his head, a fond smile on his face, "You're being extremely childish, you know."

Carlos shrugged again, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he said and Kendall laughed, shaking his head slightly.

"Has it been two minutes yet?"

Carlos lifted his hand and glanced at his watch, "Uh, I don't know. I wasn't keeping time."

Kendall threw his arms up, "Carlos!"

Carlos averted his gaze, ears heating up in embarrassment. "Sorry!"

Kendall let out a small growl of frustration, "When I win, I'm ordering the most expensive meal on the menu," he said, stepping back onto the ice. He stole the puck away from Carlos and skated towards the center of the rink.

Carlos blinked in surprise and quickly followed after, "_If_ you win," he said as he faced Kendall once again in the middle of the rink.

"Oh, I'm going to win alright. I was going to take it easy on you but not anymore. No mercy." The look on Kendall's face sent a shiver down Carlos' spine that had nothing to do with fear or the cold. He swallowed thickly and quickly looked away, taking a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart. He shook his head to try to clear it. He couldn't afford to be distracted by inappropriate thoughts about Kendall, especially when he had a free meal on the line.

"Whatever, Kendall, I'm gonna wipe the ice with your sorry ass."

Kendall just laughed and Carlos regretted his words just a few minutes later when Kendall body checked him into the boards with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs. He gasped for breath, leaning heavily against the board as he watched Kendall score another point. Kendall turned around a wide grin on his face, throwing his arms up in the air, "What then, Carlitos!"

Carlos groaned and pushed off of the boards to meet Kendall in the center of the rink once again. Maybe he could persuade Kendall into letting him _make_ him lunch instead.

* * *

><p>They dropped their bags by the door and trudged into the kitchen. Carlos went straight for the fridge and glanced over his shoulder at Kendall who was leaning against the side of the counter across from the sink, "Want a water?"<p>

"Yeah, sure."

Carlos nodded and grabbed two water bottles. He tossed one to Kendall and leaned against the counter by the sink as he twisted his open. He brought the bottle up to his lips and paused as he watched Kendall do the same, eyes fixated on Kendall's Adam's apple bobbing slightly with each swallow.

"I call dibs on the shower," Kendall said, snapping Carlos out of it.

He blinked rapidly, "Wha- Aww, man, no fair." He ached all over and all he wanted was to take a long hot shower then take a small nap before he and Kendall went out for lunch.

Kendall laughed, "Well, if you weren't so busy daydreaming maybe you could've called it."

Carlos blushed slightly and ducked his head, finger rubbing against the side of his water bottle nervously. "Yeah, whatever."

"Okay, tell ya what," Kendall said after a moment and Carlos looked up curiously. Kendall pointed his water bottle at Carlos as he continued, "Since I wiped the ice with you today, you can have first dibs on the shower."

Carlos' bottom lip protruded and he slouched against the counter from the reminder of his loss. He hadn't managed to get a single point on Kendall before the other managed to get his three points to win. It was a humiliating defeat. "Gee, thanks…" he said sullenly, twisting the cap back onto his water bottle.

Kendall grinned, "Aw, cheer up, Carlitos, there's always next time."

Carlos' eyes widened slightly and his heart nearly skipped a beat, "Next time?" He hadn't expected Kendall to want to do this again especially since he had been so reluctant to go in the first place. Maybe his plan was working and all Kendall needed was to go out and have some fun so he could forget about Jo.

Kendall's grin softened into a genuine smile, "Yeah," he said, then he smirked, "That is, if you're not afraid of me beating you again."

Carlos scoffed, "You got lucky, that's all."

Kendall threw his head back and laughed. Carlos tried not to get distracted by Kendall's throat, not wanting to get caught staring again. "Yeah, right, that was all skill, baby."

Carlos huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes, "Whatever. You're going down next time, Knight."

Kendall smirked and it really wasn't fair the way it affected Carlos. He felt hot all over and he should probably just go take a shower now before Kendall noticed his blush. "I look forward to it. Maybe we can get Logan and James to come with us."

Carlos nodded quickly, "Yeah, that'd be fun. Just like old times."

Kendall smiled and nodded in agreement, "Just like old times."

* * *

><p>Carlos sat in the middle of the living room, legs crossed and a half-inflated kiddie pool laid out in front of him. He had moved the round coffee table and pushed the couch out of the way to give himself room and he'd even rolled up the rug and set it to the side just in case he made a mess which he was bound to do.<p>

He was starting to get tired of blowing the pool up though. He'd been working at it non-stop since Mrs. Knight had left after breakfast, telling them that she was taking Katie out for some auditions and they wouldn't be back until later that night.

"What are you doing?"

Carlos looked up in surprise, finding Kendall standing by the kitchen table looking down at him curiously. He quickly slipped a finger in his mouth, placing it against the hole in the pool so the air wouldn't escape before pulling it away from his face. "What does it look like I'm doing?" Carlos huffed a bit as he tried to catch his breath.

Kendall laughed. "Okay. _Why_are you blowing up a swimming pool? You know there's a perfectly good one outside, right?"

Carlos couldn't contain his excitement and he bounced a little in place as he grinned up at Kendall. "Yeah, but that one isn't going to be filled with jello!"

Kendall eyes widened slightly and he laughed again, "Jello?"

Carlos nodded excited, a wide smile spread across his face, "Yup!"

Kendall smiled in bewilderment before he sat down beside him, "Why are you making jello in a pool?"

"Because Logan said it couldn't be done. Something about temperatures and blah blah blah sciency stuff. Want to help me? I'm getting kind of tired."

Kendall laughed, "Why isn't Logan here to help you?"

"Camille texted him and he went off to hang out with her," Carlos explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Oh…"

Carlos shrugged again, "Yeah, no big deal. So do you?" Carlos grinned slightly as he held the plastic pool out towards Kendall.

Kendall seemed to take his time thinking it over and Carlos' grin faded a little before Kendall grinned, "Of course. You know how much I love proving Logan wrong," he said pulling the pool closer to himself. Carlos' grin came back full force and he leaned back on his hands to watch Kendall. Kendall smiled around the plastic bit in his mouth and Carlos felt his ears get warm as he averted his gaze, hoping Kendall didn't notice the way Carlos was looking at him.

* * *

><p>They sat in silence, blowing into the pool until they got tired and passed it back to the other. Carlos tried not to be weird by thinking about the fact that he and Kendall were basically swapping spit. It was definitely not the way he wanted, but the way Kendall didn't even seemed bother by it, just wrapped his mouth around the small bit of plastic without wiping it off like Logan would've had him pathetically flushing with pleasure regardless.<p>

Carlos' turn had just started when he paused, holding his finger over the plastic plug as he held it in his lap. "Are you ever going to talk about it?" He didn't want to push but it had been weeks and Kendall still hadn't talked about his break up with Jo. Kendall seemed to be doing okay but for all Carlos knew Kendall was just putting on a brave face so no one would worry and Carlos hated the idea of Kendall hurting in silence just to spare them.

Kendall looked at him in confusion, eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Talk about what?"

"You and Jo."

Something in Kendall's face shifted, like a shutter being drawn shut and he looked away, "There's nothing to talk about. She dumped me," he said with a shrug, "That's all there is to it."

"Yeah but-"

"I don't want to talk about this right now, okay?"

Kendall's tone was sharp and Carlos knew better than to argue. He nodded jerkily, swallowing softly, "Okay, sorry…"

Kendall let out a sigh, "It's my turn," he said, reaching forward and taking the pool away from Carlos. It really wasn't. Carlos had barely started and he wasn't out of breath at all but he didn't say anything, just sat back and let Kendall take over.

"But if you _did_ wanted to talk, I'm here for you, you know."

Kendall looked at him for a moment before he removed the pool from his mouth, "I know, Carlos. And I appreciate it, man, but I'm just not ready right now."

Carlos nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry…," he apologized again and Kendall just shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," he said offering a small smile before he resumed blowing air into the pool.

They finished blowing up the pool in silence, both falling over to lie on their backs afterward. "Finally," Carlos breathed out, folding his hands together on his chest. He turned his head to glance at Kendall. The other boy was still winded, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

Kendall caught his gaze and they grinned at each other. "So, now what?"

* * *

><p>Boiling the water was annoying and tedious. Carlos hated the long wait but he had managed to find two large pots so he could boil all the water he needed at the same time, even if it would take forever. "Where'd you get these?" Kendall tapped one of the pots with a fingernail, one eyebrow arched curiously.<p>

Carlos turned the burners up to high before glancing at Kendall, "I borrowed them from the neighbors," he explained as he leaned against the counter.

Kendall grinned, "You know it's not going to boil while you watch it, right?"

"Well, what should we do instead?"

Kendall shrugged, "Watch TV? We can't leave the apartment so grabbing something to eat is out."

Carlos' mouth twisted in thought before he nodded, "Okay, let's see what's coming on then," he said with a bright smile.

After pushed the couch back in place, Carlos flung himself onto it, bouncing slightly before settling back against the cushions. He smiled up at Kendall as the other boy sat down next to him, crossing one leg over his knee as he leaned back. "Where's the remote?"

Carlos glanced around the living room before he found it on the coffee table. "I'll get it," he said, lurching off the couch. He jumped over the pool and snatched the remote from its resting place before spinning around and hopping back over to the couch. Kendall stared at him in half amusement, half awe until Carlos started to feel self-conscious. "What?"

"I'm kind of jealous of all your endless energy, Carlos. I get tired just watching you sometimes."

Carlos chuckled softly, a small blush coloring his cheeks. Kendall grinned at him as he snatched the remote from Carlos' hands and leaned back against the cushions as he turned the TV on. Carlos glared at Kendall a bit before he sat back, bringing his feet up to cross his legs. Kendall flipped through the channels until he found something that they both wanted to watch.

They checked the water periodically, taking turns to see if it was at its boiling point yet. "Oh, oh, it's boiling!" Carlos bounced on the balls of his feet in his excitement as he watched the beginnings of the small air bubbles coming to the surface. He smiled widely at Kendall as the blond hurriedly made his way to the kitchen. Once Kendall was by his side he reached over and turned the burners off.

"Be careful."

Carlos paused, hands stopping mid-air and he rolled his eyes, "I know," he said with an exasperated sigh as he reached to grab the handles on the pot. He instantly pulled his hands back, "Ouch!"

"I told you to be careful!" Carlos was too busy shoving his fingers into his mouth to respond but he sent Kendall a look and Kendall's face went from annoyed to worried, "Are you okay?"

Carlos sucked on his fingers slightly, tongue soothing the pain away, "Yeah, I'm fine," he finally said, removing his fingers and wiping them on his shirt.

"Here." Kendall tossed him two pot holders which Carlos clumsily caught against his chest. By the time Carlos got with the program, Kendall was already fitted with oven mitts on both hands.

"Why do you get those and I get these?"

"Because I got to these first," Kendall said with a grin, holding up both mitted hands.

With a roll of his eyes, Carlos gripped onto one side of one of the pots, careful not to touch the heated metal with his bare fingers. Kendall gripped onto the other side and with a nod of his head they hefted it off the stove. Together they carried the pot between them to the living room, shuffling as fast as they could without jarring the hot water inside too much. A thought suddenly struck Carlos and he stopped abruptly, "Wait."

Kendall lurched to a stop, eyes wide as he turned to look at Carlos. "What?"

"Do you think this'll melt the pool maybe?"

Kendall blinked then seemed to relax, exhaling sharply, "Nah, I don't think so. But we'll find out, I guess," Kendall said with a small grin.

It turned out that the pool didn't melt or pop when they poured the water in, much to Carlos' relief. He felt he would've been totally justified in crying if it had, but since it didn't, he quickly put the thought out of his mind and concentrated on not burning himself on the still rather hot metal pot. They quickly did the same with the second pot and then Carlos ran to his room to grab the large trash bag full of jello mix he had bought from his closet.

When Carlos got back to the living room, Kendall was sitting on the couch, arms resting spread out on the back of the couch. The blond looked up when he saw him and sat up as Carlos sat down next to him, swinging the bag around between them. Kendall reached into the plastic bag and pulled out a box. He arched an eyebrow as he turned towards Carlos, "Green?"

"Duh, everyone knows green jello is the best," he said, reaching over to snatch the small box from Kendall's hand. He turned it over to read the directions on the side, squinting as he brought it closer to his face to see the tiny print more clearly.

Kendall laughed and nodded, "Right, of course."

"We need a spoon," Carlos suddenly said and tossed the box onto the couch as he got to his feet. He searched the drawers in the kitchen looking for a large cooking spoon to stir with. He came back holding it proudly and Kendall laughed.

"Alright, let's do this," Kendall said, sliding off of the couch to kneel beside the pool. He grabbed the box that Carlos had abandoned and tore it open, "Ready?"

Carlos grinned and nodded, "Yeah!"

Kendall began pouring the mix into the water and Carlos quickly dipped the spoon into the water, watching in fascination as it slowly turned green, the mix permeating the water. It was kind of cool to watch and he reached out as far as he could, leaning precariously over the pool to get it to blend together well.

"Be careful," Kendall warned and he looked up, "You're going to fall in if you lean over too far."

"Oh, right," Carlos said and he pulled back slightly, still stirring slowly.

Kendall suddenly laughed and Carlos looked up again, this time in confusion, "What?"

Kendall shook his head, grinning widely, "Nothing, you just look funny stirring with that spoon."

"Shut up. It's the biggest one we have."

"Yeah, I know. It's just funny."

"Just keeping pouring in the mix," Carlos grumbled, face feeling hot with embarrassment.

Kendall grinned as he obliged, tearing open another packet of jello mix and dumping the powder in. Carlos stirred the green tinted water as Kendall continued to open packet after packet. After a while his shoulders and back started to ache from his crouched position and he sat up. "Let's switch. I'm getting tired."

Kendall paused in the process of opening another box of mix and nodded, "Okay," he said, handing over the box and reaching for the spoon in Carlos's hand.

They continued on in silence, switching jobs when one boy got tired of stirring. Carlos eventually abandoned the spoon altogether, tossing it to the side with a clatter and a splash of green liquid. "What are you-?" Kendall started then stopped when Carlos plunged his arm into the pool. "Be careful, it's hot!"

Carlos shook his head, grinning up at the other boy. He felt warmth spread throughout his chest at Kendall's worry over him. "It's not that hot. It feels like a bath. A green, sticky bath," he said, chuckling softly.

Kendall looked dubious but eventually nodded, a small smile gracing his features before he turned back to opening the jello packet in his hands. "This is a lot of work."

"I know! Maybe we should've mixed it all together in the pots before pouring the water into the pool," Carlos said, facing turning thoughtful as he swished his arm through the liquid.

Kendall laughed incredulously and reached over to smack Carlos lightly on the back of his head, "Now you say that!"

"Ow! Hey, I can't think of everything, okay? This is why Logan should've stayed to help me. He would've thought of that _before_ we actually got to this point."

"Oh, well, we can't all be as smart as Logan now, can we?"

Carlos paused, observing the way Kendall's jaw was clenched tight and wondered what he had said to upset the other boy. "Are you mad?"

"What? No, why would I be mad?"

"I don't know. But you seem all annoyed now," Carlos said and reached over to poke Kendall gently in the side repeatedly. He watched as Kendall's lips quirked up before he laughed, smacking Carlos' hand away.

"Stop it. I'm not mad," he said, face softer now and Carlos smiled.

"I'm glad you're here though instead of Logan." Carlos watched as Kendall smiled back, wide and genuine and hoped his flush wasn't as prominent as it felt.

"Good."

Carlos averted his gaze, looking down at the remaining boxes of mix and grabbing one as a distraction. He cleared his throat, "So, let's switch then?"

Kendall shrugged, "Yeah, okay," he said, and leaned forward. Carlos' breath hitched slightly as Kendall pressed into his space, reaching forward to grab the spoon laying on Carlos' other side. "But I'm using the spoon," Kendall finished as he straightened up.

Carlos grinned shakily, swallowing softly, "Lame. It's more fun to mix it up with your hands!" He reached down into the pool and wiggled his fingers into the mix.

Kendall rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I don't want to be stained green," he said as he dipped the pool into the mix and stirred slowly. "Come on, let's finish this up before it gets too cold," he added after a moment. Carlos nodded immediately, tearing open the packet of mix in his hand and began pouring it in.

After all of the powder was stirred in as best as they could, both boys sat back with a heavy sigh. "I'm going to go grab the ice," Carlos said after watching the pool for a few moments and scrambled to his feet. Kendall glanced up at him briefly, humming in acknowledgment but otherwise didn't say anything else. Carlos went to the freezer where he had shoved several bags of ice in and dragged them over to Kendall. "There's more in that ice chest," he said slightly out of breath from both excitement and the exertion of pulling the ice bags. He nodded towards the blue ice chest sitting by the wall, "Can you get it?"

Kendall nodded and jumped to his feet, "Sure thing." He dragged it over to the pool and opened it, pulling out a few more bags of ice and setting them down next to the others. "How'd you know how much to get?"

"Logan did all the math for me. He told me how much mix to buy and how much water and ice I'd need. I've been planning this for a long time."

"Really?"

"Yup."

The corner of Kendall's mouth downturn thoughtfully before he smiles, "Okay, so we just dump it in?"

"Pretty much," Carlos said, pulling a bag close and tearing the plastic open. He wrapped an arm around it and tilted it over. The ice splashed into the water and he heard it cracking faintly as he got to his feet and walked around the perimeter of the pool, trying to spread the ice evenly. He looked up when the bag was empty and saw Kendall doing the same on the other side of the pool before he smiled and grabbed another bag.

* * *

><p>Mrs. Knight walked through the front door and both boys stopped, quickly glancing at each other in horror before turning towards Mrs. Knight. Carlos was elbow deep in the pool trying to stir the jello as well as he could on one side of the pool while Kendall sat at the other side pouring in the last of the ice. Mrs. Knight stopped before them and placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed the living room. "What are you doing?"<p>

"Um, making jello?" Kendall sent his mother his best boyish smile and Carlos did the same, ready for Kendall's mother to get after them.

She looked at each boy sternly then glanced down at the pool before them, "Well, don't make a mess," she said, "I'm taking Katie out to lunch, but I forgot my wallet. We'll be back in time for dinner," she added before turning around and walking out of the living room area. Both boys watched her disappear out of sight before turning back to each other.

Carlos relaxed, letting out the breath he had been holding in a rush of air, "Have I told you how cool your mom is lately?"

Kendall grinned, "Nope, not lately."

Carlos grinned back and pulled his arm out of the jello mix. He shook it gently, trying to get as much of the excess liquid off as he could. "You think that's good enough?"

Kendall gave a sharp nod of his head, "Yeah, definitely."

Mrs. Knight walked back out into the main room and they both looked up again, "Be sure to clean up whatever mess you make," she called out to them, pausing at the door.

"Yes, ma'am," both boys responded in unison. Mrs. Knight smiled at them before she walked out the door, closing it shut behind her.

* * *

><p>They both washed their hands and cleaned up whatever jello mix that had splashed onto the floor as best they could. Carlos still felt a little sticky afterwards and his arms were both stained green. Kendall was in the same condition because he had eventually given up on the spoon when it became too tedious. They chuckled as they stretched their arms out in front of themselves side by side. "How long do you think we'll stay like this?"<p>

"Not long. A nice hot shower will probably make it go away."

"Too bad," Carlos said and wiggled his fingers. Kendall laughed and reached over to ruffle Carlos' hair causing him to yelp a bit and dodge out of the way.

They settled on the couch again and watched more television as they waited. Carlos really hated waiting but it wasn't so bad when he was able to sit pressed close against Kendall. And when Carlos let his head tilt to the side and pressed it against Kendall's shoulder, Kendall just leaned over and pressed his cheek against the top of Carlos' head without saying a word.

* * *

><p>After about an hour and a half, the jello still hadn't thickened enough to really be considered gelatin. "I guess Logan was right after all," Carlos said in a huff as he plopped back down on the couch. He crossed his arms and felt his bottom lip protruding of its own accord as he glared down at the pool.<p>

Kendall chuckled softly and sucked the green jello liquid off of his finger which was slightly distracting for Carlos but not enough to pull him out of his funk. The blond sat down beside Carlos and draped his arm around his shoulder. "Sorry, man," he said, squeezing Carlos slightly, "Maybe we needed more ice or something."

"Maybe…" Carlos said grumpily.

Kendall leaned over and pressed his forehead against Carlos' temple, "Come on, let's go out for smoothies instead."

Carlos glanced up at Kendall, the other boy smiling down at him gently, "Okay," he muttered, feeling his ears heating up when he realized how close they were. Kendall grinned down at him and gave him another squeeze before releasing him.

Carlos looked up as Kendall stood up. "Come on, we'll clean this up when we get back," he said, gesturing towards the pool before he turned away and started walking towards the door. Carlos jumped to his feet to follow him. The pool might have been a failure and he wasn't looking forward to the 'told you so' Logan was bound to give him but he got to spend the day with Kendall and that was worth suffering through a million 'told you so's from Logan.

* * *

><p>It was a Saturday night and there was a cheesy horror movie marathon coming late on TV. James and Logan had bailed out in order to sleep half way through which left just Carlos and Kendall sitting on the couch. There was a commercial playing and Carlos could feel his eyes drooping, heavy with the need for sleep when Kendall spoke. "Things are so much simpler with you," he said without any kind of preamble. Carlos jumped slightly in surprise. He had been pretty sure Kendall had been half asleep already.<p>

Carlos turned his head to look at the other boy and asked sleepily, "What do you mean?"

Kendall leaned his head back against the back of the couch, head falling to the side to face Carlos, "Just that. Jo makes everything so complicated. Nothing I do is ever right. But you, you don't expect anything from me."

Carlos blinked, feeling more awake all of a sudden and sat up slightly to shrug gently. He cleared his throat softly, "I expect stuff from you. I expect you to always be there when I need a friend and to always know what to do to get us out of trouble. And I expect you to never change and to be the same old Kendall you've always been so I'll always know what normal is," Carlos turned his head, finding the blond watching him and he grinned, "You've been doing pretty good so far."

Kendall broke out into a grin suddenly, dimples prominently displayed making Carlos' heart skip a beat, "Thanks, Carlos," he said and reached across the couch to place his hand on top of Carlos'.

Carlos' breath hitched at the contact and he tried not to flinch away while Kendall squeezed his hand gently. The blond removed his hand right away and they settled into a small silence once more as the commercial break ended.

Carlos traced Kendall's features with his eyes, wanting to reach out and use his fingertips instead. It took every ounce of his self-control to not lean over and kiss the upturned corner of Kendall's mouth. It was too soon. Kendall wasn't ready to move on yet and he didn't want to ruin everything by being impatient. He'd never been good at waiting, but for Kendall he was willing to do it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three-**

Carlos walked into the apartment to find Kendall sitting at the raised bar in front of the sink. He was on the phone with a pinched look on his face like he didn't know what he was feeling. The grin that had been on Carlos' face as he caught sight of the other boy faded and he walked over to hop up on the stool next to Kendall.

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you tonight, then," Kendall said before hanging up. His shoulders slump as he set his phone on the counter and turned towards Carlos.

Carlos looked at him worriedly, frowning slightly when Kendall let out a heavy sigh. "Who was that?"

Kendall reluctantly looked up at Carlos, face forlorn as he muttered, "Jo."

Carlos swallowed, heart starting to pound in his chest and he tapped his pointer finger against the countertop. "Oh…what did she want?"

"She said she wanted to talk," Kendall said, pausing a moment before adding, "About getting back together."

Carlos stiffened slightly, and paused, fingernail resting against the counter after one final click. He studied Kendall for a moment, knowing the answer before he even asked. "And you're going?"

"Well, yeah. I miss her," he paused before adding, "A lot. I just want things to go back to the way they were."

Again Carlos studied Kendall for a minute, "Why?"

Kendall looked up at him, looking lost and helpless, "I love her," he said with a small shrug.

Carlos' breath caught in his throat and he quickly tried to cover it up with a cough as he turned away from the other boy, looking down at the countertop. "Right, of course," he muttered, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. He swallowed thickly and looked around helplessly. He could feel Kendall's eyes on him, waiting for him to say something, but he couldn't. His throat felt tight and his eyes started to sting. Without another word, he hopped off the stool and headed towards their room.

"Where are you going?" He heard Kendall following him but ignored him, rushing into their room and slamming the door behind him. He looked around helplessly, not sure what to do, before he sank down onto the edge of his bed heavily. He rested his elbows on his thighs, and covering his face with his hands. He looked up when the door opened and Kendall cautiously entered the room. The blond stood at the doorway for a few moments before walking over towards Carlos.

"Are you mad at me?" Kendall sat down on the bed as he asked the question, tentatively placing a hand on Carlos' shoulder.

Carlos shrugged his hand off and turned away, "Leave me alone," he muttered and scooted away from the other boy.

"Come on, Carlos, why are you being like this?"

Carlos suddenly turned back to the other boy, "Why are you going back to her? She hurt you, broke your heart and you're just going back like nothing happened!" His eyes burned with unshed tears that he refused to let fall and he got to his feet and stood with his back to the other boy so he wouldn't see them.

Kendall remained silent for a moment, "I'm miserable without her, Carlos, you know that."

Carlos' face felt hot from holding back his tears. He had thought he had been helping Kendall get over Jo, that the other boy could see how much Carlos cared for him but he had just been fooling himself apparently. "Whatever," he muttered, sniffing loudly, "Just go be with your stupid girlfriend."

A hand landed on his shoulder and he immediately shrugged it off again, "I said, leave me alone," he said, voice thick with emotion. He quickly spun around, shoving Kendall out of the way as he stormed out of the room.

He heard Kendall call out but ignored him as he headed straight towards Logan and James' room, barging in and slamming the door behind him. Logan looked up startled, "Carlos," he exclaimed angrily before he seemed to notice the state Carlos was in and his face changed to one of worry, "What's wrong?"

Carlos leaned against the door heavily, chest heaving as he tried to stay calm, still refusing to cry. But it hurt and he was angry and he'd never been good at keeping his emotions in check. He felt his face crumple, chin quivering as hot tears spilled down his cheeks and he brought his hands up to his face to hide them.

Logan was next to him in a second, placing both hands on his shoulders, "Whoa, dude, what happened?"

Carlos just shook his head as he furiously wiped at his face. He hated that he was crying over something so stupid. But Kendall was just _so _stupid and his heart felt so heavy in his chest, he didn't know what else to do that didn't involve beating the living crap out of Kendall.

Logan pulled him in, arms going around his torso as Carlos pressed his face against his shoulder, squeezing Logan around the waist. He cried until he couldn't cry anymore and Logan just let him, rubbing his back soothingly as he sobbed. He felt really stupid about it afterward. "Sorry for crying on you," he said quietly as he pulled away, using his shirt to wipe his face dry.

Logan shook his head, "Don't worry about it," he said, looking vaguely amused but still concerned. "What happened?"

"Kendall's getting back together with Jo," Carlos said with a heavy sigh and leaned back against the door once more.

Logan's mouth fell open slightly in surprise. "Oh."

Carlos looked away, not wanting to see the pity in the other boy's eyes. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

Carlos shrugged, "It doesn't matter. I should've seen it coming. They're always fighting and making up. It just sucks."

Logan nodded, and patted Carlos' shoulder gently, "Well, I guess James was right about the slow and steady plan not working."

Carlos sent Logan a dirty look and the other boy winced, an apologetic look on his face. "Too soon?"

"Yes." Carlos sighed and went to flop face down on Logan's bed as Logan made his way back to his desk. He was being selfish, he knew that. If Jo made Kendall happy, then he should be happy as well. But Carlos knew she didn't make Kendall happy anymore and hadn't for a long time. They were always arguing and Kendall came home aggravated more often than not. Carlos missed when Kendall would come home from a date with a goofy smile on his face and he and the others would tease Kendall until he was red in the face with embarrassment and they would all end up on the floor in a dog pile.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Carlos is sitting on the couch watching TV when Kendall walked into the apartment. He glanced up briefly before snapping his attention back to the television, intent on ignoring the blond. Even though he had resigned himself to being happy for Kendall no matter what, Carlos was still annoyed at him.<p>

"Hey," Kendall said and sat down next to him on the couch. Carlos stiffened slightly and resisted the childish urge to scoot away from the blond to show his displeasure.

"Hey," Carlos replied shortly, keeping his eyes trained in front. He grabbed the remote and started changing the channel completely ignoring the boy beside him.

He heard Kendall sigh and pretended to be engrossed by what was coming on TV but it was hard when Kendall was right next to him and he could practically feel how unhappy he was. "We didn't get back together," Kendall finally said. He sounded sad and defeated and that pulled at Carlos' heartstrings.

Carlos paused minutely, heart started to pound in his chest, but he still didn't look at the other boy, "I'm sorry," he said, trying to keep his voice even. He was dying to ask why though, and he knew it was dumb to get his hopes up that he was the reason but he couldn't help it.

"It didn't feel right. All I could think about is you." Carlos looked up at him sharply, but Kendall kept on talking, "I'm sorry, man. Whatever I did to upset you, I'm really sorry. Please don't be mad at me anymore."

And Kendall looked at him so earnestly that Carlos couldn't help but smile, heart melting and really, he could never stay mad at Kendall for long. It took more effort to try to hate the other boy than he was willing to put out. "It's cool, man. We're good," he said, reaching out to punch Kendall in the shoulder lightly.

Kendall laughed, "Ow, hey, that hurt," he said, rubbing his arm.

"Don't be such a wuss," Carlos said with a grin, shoving at Kendall's shoulder playfully.

Kendall let out a mock growl and lunged at Carlos, arms wrapping around his neck to put him in a headlock. Carlos let out a yelp of surprise and wrapped his arms around Kendall's waist as the other boy forced him to bend over.

They both fell to the ground laughing, Kendall landing half on top of Carlos in the small space between the couch and the coffee table. Carlos tried to roll away, but was blocked by the legs of the table so instead he attempted to squirm out from under the blond.

"No way," Kendall exclaimed with a laugh, grabbing the back of Carlos' shirt, crawling after him. Carlos laughed and turned around slightly, trying to break free, but Kendall only tugged harder as he lunged after him, pinning him down to the ground with his body.

They both laughed as Kendall pinned Carlos' wrists to the floor. Carlos tried to buck Kendall off, but the blond was sitting on his stomach and he couldn't get any good leverage.

Kendall struggled slightly to keep Carlos pinned as he squirmed under him, laughing breathlessly. "Who's the wuss now," he asked and laughed again when Carlos turns his head to try to snap at Kendall's hands.

After a few moments, Carlos finally gave up, letting his head fall back against the floor with a soft thud, "Okay, okay, you're not a wuss. Now get off of me, you're heavy," he grunted, trying once more to try to buck the blond off.

Kendall's mouth fell open and he let out an exaggerated gasp, releasing one of Carlos' wrists to press the palm of his hand against Carlos' face, squishing it roughly in retaliation. "Are you saying I'm fat?

Carlos' arm flailed slightly, "Ack, stop it," he exclaimed, reaching up with his free hand get at Kendall's face in return. But Kendall just leaned away from him. Stupid gangly limbed freak, Carlos thought, agitated by the fact that Kendall's reach was slightly longer than his.

"Say you're sorry."

"I'm sorry," Carlos exclaimed, words coming out muffled and slightly slurred from his face being squished to the side.

Kendall removed his hand from his face and Carlos shot him a dirty look as the blond smirked down at him in triumph. The other boy pushed himself up to his feet, but Carlos sat up quickly and grabbed him by the belt, tugging him down once more. Kendall let out a small exclamation as he went down and they rolled around once more, each trying to get the upper hand.

Kendall once again managed to pin Carlos down, lying flat on the other boy, legs slotted together. Laughing he pushed himself up, hands on Carlos' shoulder to keep him pinned down. He suddenly stopped, eyes widening a fraction and Carlos gulped, suddenly aware of his body's reaction, "Whoa, Carlos-" Kendall exclaimed cutting off as he rolled off of the shorter boy, sitting up to stare at Carlos in bewilderment.

Carlos sat up as well and covered his lap with both hands. "Sorry!" He could feel his face heat up in embarrassment and he tried to will his erection away by trying to think the unsexiest thoughts he could, but all he could focus on was the way Kendall's cheeks were flushed red and his hair was damp with sweat and plastered to his forehead.

Kendall blinked and licked his lips before shaking his head, "It's fine. I mean, we're teenagers. It happens," he said with a shrug, distracting Carlos from his thoughts.

Carlos nodded quickly, relief at Kendall's easy dismissal flooding through him, "Ye-yeah," he said shakily and got to his feet, "Right."

Kendall looked up at him, "Where are you going?"

Keeping both hands over his crotch, Carlos gestured awkwardly with his head, "To bed. It's, uh, getting late."

"Oh, right. Yeah, okay, I'll be there in a minute."

Carlos nodded, "Sounds good," he muttered before rushing off to their room, face hot with embarrassment and shame. Once there, he quickly changed into his pajamas, ignoring the ache in his groin. Normally he would just jerk off and get it over with, but he couldn't do that when Kendall _knew_and was probably waiting for him to finish before coming to bed. It was too embarrassing to think about and he quickly dove into his bed, burrowing under the blankets and closing his eyes tightly.

Carlos' erection was gone, thankfully, by the time Kendall finally walked into their room. He pretended to be asleep and listened to the other boy as he got ready for bed. He waited until Kendall was settled in bed before he spoke up, "So, does this mean you're over her now?"

"I don't know, I think so. I mean, I'm still a little sad about it, but seeing her again and talking to her made me realize how unhappy I've been the past few months. I don't want to go back to that."

"Good. I hated seeing you so unhappy and depressed," Carlos murmured, rolling onto his side to face Kendall's bed. He heard Kendall roll over to do the same.

"You made it better. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've gotten back together with her tonight," Kendall said softly and Carlos flushed with happiness, hiding his smile in his blanket even though Kendall wouldn't have been able to see it anyway.

I love you, he wanted to say, but knew it would only ruin things between them so he kept his mouth shut until the urge subsided and he whispered a soft, "Night," instead.

He heard Kendall shift, messing with his pillows before settling down again and murmured out a, "Mm, night, Carlitos," in return.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Gustavo only wanted Kendall to come into the studio, which was just as well since Carlos needed to talk to Logan and James about what he should do next to try and win Kendall over. Now that he was sure Kendall was over Jo and didn't want her anymore, it was time for him to actually make a move. Over the course of the past few weeks, Carlos came to the conclusion that he didn't want to sit around watching Kendall be happy with someone else. He wanted Kendall to be happy with<em> him<em>.

He went straight to Logan and James' room as soon as Kendall left and closed the door behind him quickly. "Guys!"

Logan was sitting at his desk, as usual and James was lying sprawled across Logan's bed reading a magazine. They both looked up startled at his outburst. James closed his magazine and tossed it onto the small table between the two beds. "Geeze, where's the fire, Carlos?"

"Kendall just left."

James' eyebrows disappeared into his hair, "And this is earth shattering news how?"

"Because I need to talk to you guys about him."

Logan arched an eyebrow, "What about him?"

Carlos grinned and bound over to sit down at the edge of Logan's bed, bouncing a little in his excitement. "He said he was over her."

Logan's eyes widened slightly in surprise and he leaned forward in his chair, "Really? When?"

"The other night, after he went to see her, when he came back he said he was over her, or getting over her, whatever."

James nudged him in the back with his knee, "And what does that have to do with us?"

Carlos turned slightly and shoved James' leg away in annoyance, "I need you guys to help me try to get Kendall to, I don't know, notice me or something," Carlos said, suddenly feeling a little awkward as he spoke the words out loud.

James chuckled and sat up a smirk growing on his face, "You want help getting into Kendall's pants?"

Carlos felt his face flush slightly, "Not like that," he exclaimed shoving James lightly again before turning towards Logan, "Logan?"

Logan turned back towards his desk and flipped his textbook closed, "Well, Kendall already loves you. We just have to shift his love from 'Best Bud' love to 'Hey I'd really like to get into your pants' love," Logan said, spinning around in his chair to face Carlos once again.

"And that can be done with a simple pair of tight jeans," James offered that same knowing look from the last time on his face.

Carlos laughed, "Dude, enough with the tight pants."

James jabbed his finger at Carlos, "Hey, I'm trying to help you here."

"I don't see how wearing tight pants is going to help me."

"It might help," Logan said with his mouth downturned thoughtfully, "I mean, it couldn't hurt."

"You've got a really nice ass, Carlos. It would definitely help."

Carlos' eyes snapped towards James and he and Logan stared at the taller brunet incredulously, "Dude."

James sat up a little straighter, "What? I can't appreciate a nice ass without it being gay?"

"Not when it's mine you're talking about!"

James huffed in annoyance and rolled off the bed, wiping his hand down his shirt to get the wrinkles out. Carlos and Logan watched as he started to walk towards the door, "Where are you going?"

James turned back a few feet from the door, "To go hang out by the pool."

Carlos' eyes widened and he frowned at the taller boy, "You're not going to help me?"

"I already tried helping you. You don't want to listen. Good luck though," James said, giving him a thumbs-up before heading out the door.

Carlos frowned after the other boy before turning back to Logan who was wearing a similar expression. "Okay, whatever. We don't need him. What we need to do is find out if Kendall is even remotely interested in guys."

"How do I do that?"

Logan tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Hmm, I don't know. Make a comment about how hot some guy is or something," Logan said with a small shrug.

Carlos made a face, nose scrunching up slightly, "But I'm not interested in any other guys. I just want Kendall."

Logan sighed, "Doesn't matter. Just gauge his reaction."

Carlos let out a small groan of frustration, "Okay," he said and fell back against the bed, "Why is this so complicated?"

He glanced over at Logan just in time to catch his shrug, "That's what happens when you fall in love with your best friend, I guess."

* * *

><p>Carlos managed to work up the nerve a few nights later. James and Logan had conveniently made plans for the night and Mrs. Knight had taken Katie and that boy she liked to the movies, leaving Kendall and Carlos alone to hang out. They decided to watch a movie since there was never anything good on TV. Carlos could barely concentrate on the movie though, an action-comedy that he couldn't follow the plot of. All he knew was that there were a few explosions and Kendall seemed to laugh a lot so it was probably pretty funny.<p>

Carlos snuck a quick glance at the other boy and swallowed thickly, "Hey, Kendall…" he started softly. Kendall lifted his eyebrows slightly and hummed in acknowledgement but otherwise didn't tear his eyes away from the TV. Carlos opened his mouth, not sure what was going to come out but determined to say something. "Nevermind," he said instead, head snapping back towards the TV.

That had Kendall turning to look at him, a bemused smile on his face, "What is it?"

Carlos shook his head, "It's nothing. Forget it."

"No, see, now you have to tell me."

Carlos chuckled, "Really, it's nothing."

Kendall frowned slightly, "Teeell mee," he pleaded, reaching over to poke Carlos gently in the ribs repeatedly. Carlos laughed and tried to fend Kendall off, swatting at his hands and attempting to scoot away from him on the couch. Kendall only followed after him though, pinching his sides lightly.

"Ouch! Stop, stop!"

"Tell me what you were going to say," Kendall demanded, fingertips digging into Carlos' ribs, almost painfully, but it only made Carlos laugh harder

"I like a boy," he finally gasped out and Kendall retracted his hands quickly, as if burned.

Kendall sat back down heavily and stared at Carlos wide-eyed, "What?"

Carlos felt his ears burning as he looked down at his lap, chest heaving. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I said that I like a guy," he said, glancing up at Kendall before averting his gaze back into his lap, fingers twiddling nervously.

"Oh…"Kendall fell silent and Carlos ducked his head further, chest growing tight as the silence lingered. He didn't know what he'd do if Kendall didn't accept this part of him. "I didn't- I didn't know you were into guys. You're always going on about girls and getting a girlfriend and you're always after The Jennifers."

Carlos shook his head, "I'm not really into guys. Just him," he explained, heart hammering in his chest.

Kendall studied him for a long moment, long enough for his palms to start to sweat and he felt hot all over. "Oh, well, he must be pretty special then, huh?"

Carlos nodded stiffly, "He is."

"Does he like you back?"

Carlos shook his head, "I don't know. I don't even know if he's into guys and even if he was, why would he want me?"

Kendall's brows furrowed slightly and he frowned, "Hey, anyone would be lucky to have you as a boyfriend. Boy or girl."

As heart-warming as that was to hear, Carlos knew Kendall was just being nice, "Yeah, right," he scoffed with a shrug of his shoulders. He stiffened slightly when Kendall reached forward and squeezed his shoulder.

"Really, Carlos. Who is he? Do I know him?"

Carlos hesitated briefly, not sure if he should answer Kendall. "Yeah, you know him," he said simply.

There was another moment of silence until Kendall prompted, "Well?"

Carlos looked up at Kendall blankly. He knew what the other boy expected but it wasn't like he could just confess right now. Could he? He still didn't know where Kendall stood with his sexuality. If Kendall wasn't interested in guys then Carlos would just keep his mouth shut forever about his feelings. "Well, what?"

Kendall narrowed his eyes slightly, "What's his name?"

Carlos shook his head, "Oh, no, I'm not telling you."

"Why not? It's not like I'm going to tell him. You know I wouldn't do that."

Carlos smiled slightly, "No, I know. I just…I just want to keep it to myself."

Kendall pouted slightly and it took all of Carlos' willpower to not give in and just confess right then, but eventually Kendall sighed and threw his arms in the air, "Fine, Fine. Keep your secrets. I'll find out eventually, you know," he said with a small mischievous smirk.

Carlos swallowed softly, knowing Kendall was right but he wasn't sure if he was looking forward to it or not.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four-**

Carlos had just sat down to with a plate of corndogs at the small upraised bar in front of the sink when Kendall came through the front door. He looked up in surprise before smiling widely at the other boy, "Hey, Kendall!" It had been almost a week since Carlos had told Kendall that he liked someone. He had expected Kendall to press him for a name or some kind of hint but Kendall hadn't even mentioned it again. Carlos didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it made him feel heavy either way, like Kendall didn't care.

"Hey," Kendall said, smiling back and walked over to him, leaning against the counter beside him.

Carlos nudged his plate a little towards Kendall, "You want one?"

Kendall looked down at the corndogs thoughtfully before he shook his head, "Nah, I'm good."

Carlos shrugged and pulled the plate back to himself, "Suit yourself."

Kendall chuckled and Carlos could feel him watching him closely. He wondered if he had something on his face and when Kendall didn't say anything else he couldn't take it anymore. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kendall said shaking his head, corners of his mouth upturned slightly.

Carlos narrowed his eyes slightly and gave Kendall a suspicious look before he grabbed a corndog and took a bite.

"So, I was wondering about this guy you like," Kendall said, breaking the small lull that had developed between them.

Carlos paused mid-chew, eyes widening as he looked at Kendall in surprise. He slowly lowered the corndog back onto the plate, heart suddenly thundering in his chest and swallowing the lump of food in his mouth, choked out a "What about him?"

"Well, what's he like? Is he cool?" Kendall ducked his head slightly, before looking up at Carlos from under his fringe. He seemed almost nervous which made no sense to Carlos who couldn't think of any reason for Kendall to be nervous.

Carlos looked down at his food, tapping his finger against the countertop. He couldn't just ignore the question, it would just make Kendall suspicious and he'd only press harder for information. He cleared his throat softly and shrugged slightly, trying to keep his cool, "Sometimes. But he can be a really big dork too. But that's what I like about him," Carlos said, face heating up as he looked up at the blond. "Why?"

Kendall shrugged and looked away, "No reason. Just curious."

Carlos studied Kendall curiously for a long moment before shrugging it off and continued eating.

* * *

><p>Carlos sat down at the end of the couch, freshly out of the shower. He let out a small sigh as he leaned back, ready to relax and watch TV until it was time for bed. He glanced over as Kendall moved and watched as the blond swung his feet onto Carlos' lap, lying back along the couch. "Massage my feet, Carlos," he said, wiggling his toes a little.<p>

Carlos wrinkled his nose slightly, "What? No, that's gross."

"Aww, come on, they're clean. I just washed them!"

Carlos laughed, "No way," he said, pushing Kendall's feet off his lap.

"Please? I'll do you if you do me."

Carlos almost choked at the implications of that statement. Even though he knew Kendall didn't mean it that way, he couldn't help but think of all the ways he'd love to do Kendall anyway. He cleared his throat and made the mistake of looking at Kendall's face. He had that kicked puppy dog expression on that they all seemed to have mastered but still haven't become immune to. "_Please_. I'll love you forever!"

Carlos laughed, "You'll love me forever anyway, right?"

Kendall grinned, "Probably."

Carlos rolled his eyes, "Fine, give 'em here," he said, patting his thighs.

Kendall beamed and quickly picked his feet up, placing one in Carlos' lap as the other continued further up to press against Carlos' cheek, "You're the best."

"Ack! What the fuck, don't put your nasty ass feet in my face!"

"Oh, be quiet, you love it," Kendall persisted, wiggling his foot a little.

Carlos made exaggerated noises of disgust and reached up to pinch Kendall's calf. "Ouch, ouch, okay, ow, I'll stop," Kendall yelped as he snatched his foot away from Carlos' grasp. They both sent each other a dirty look before they broke out into a grin at the same time.

"Gimme your foot," Carlos said, trying to sound more exasperated than he felt. He gestured with one hand and Kendall slowly let his foot fall back down to its place beside his other. Carlos hesitated a moment before he placed one hand on Kendall's ankle and wrapped his other around Kendall's foot. This was the first time he'd ever touched Kendall's feet and Kendall had been in the shower just before him so they were still kind of soft. He'd never given a foot massage before; he wasn't even sure where to begin.

He pressed the pad of his thumb in the arch of Kendall's foot and glided his thumb down to Kendall's heel. Kendall made a small noise and he glanced up quickly, hands flying away from Kendall's foot. "Did that hurt?"

Kendall chuckled and shook his head, "No, you're good. Keep going."

Carlos gave a short nod of his head and wrapped both hands around Kendall's foot this time, rubbing small circles into ball of his foot. Everything narrowed down to his hands and Kendall's foot, thumbs pressing gently in small circles. He ignored the small noises of pleasure Kendall emitted and put all his thoughts and energy into not getting a boner from it all. He didn't want to have to go through that again and this time he didn't have the excuse of adrenaline to fall back on.

Kendall's entire leg jerked as he pressed his thumb into the heel of his foot almost kicking him in the face. Carlos quickly released Kendall's foot, hands held up in surprise, "Oh, god," Kendall moaned softly.

The sound went straight to Carlos' groin and he swallowed thickly, "What's-what's wrong?"

Kendall shook his head and took a deep breath, "Nothing, nothing. That just felt _really_good."

Carlos arched an eyebrow and swiped his thumb along the same spot, pressing in with the same amount of pressure as before. Kendall's reaction was almost immediate, "Oh, fuck." Kendall panted slightly, eyes screwed shut for a moment, "Seriously, don't do that again."

Carlos tilted his head to the side in confusion, "I thought you said it felt good."

Kendall shifted on the couch, reaching back to fix the pillow under his head, "Yeah, it felt a little _too_good, if you know what I mean…"

It took a moment but Carlos eventually got what Kendall meant. "Oh!"

Kendall scratched at the side of his nose and chuckled softly, "Yeah…"

They fell into an awkward silence where all Carlos could do was think of all the different ways he could make Kendall feel good, face flushing slightly. He quickly shook the thoughts away, concentrating on rubbing Kendall's feet, resisting the urge to slide his hands up along Kendall's calf, then thigh, then-

He swallowed and pushed the thoughts away, taking a deep breath to try to calm his thundering heart. It was so not the time to be thinking about that, especially with Kendall's feet right in his lap.

"So, how's it going with that guy?"

Carlos looked up in surprise, "Huh?"

Kendall chuckled softly, "Have you figured out if he's gay or not?"

"Oh, um, no. Seems awkward to just come right out and ask, ya know?"

Kendall nodded, "Yeah, I guess. It'd be easier if he was a girl."

Carlos shrugged slightly, "Probably. But I wouldn't change him for anything," he said softly, feeling his face heat up. He glanced up and found Kendall smiling at him strangely, almost sadly and cleared his throat, "Anyway, what's the sudden interest in my love life?"

Kendall shrugged, "Just curious. I figured one of us should at least be happy."

Carlos stopped, thumbs pressing into the bottom of Kendall's foot sharply. Kendall winced and he quickly jerked his hands away, "You aren't happy?"

Kendall squirmed slightly under his gaze and sighed softly, "Well, yeah, of course, I'm _happy_. I just meant, it'd be nice if one of us had someone."

Carlos studied Kendall, knowing that wasn't what he had meant at all but he didn't want to push it. "Right…"

Kendall cleared his throat, "And this guy is apparently the _one_exception to your rule. He's gotta be pretty special, right? You can't blame me for wanting to know who he is."

Carlos smiled shyly and ducked his head, "Yeah, he is pretty special."

Kendall lifted his foot and poked Carlos in the cheek with his big toe, "Does he have dreamy eyes and a rock-hard bod?"

Carlos laughed and pinched the little toe of Kendall's other foot, "Maybe. Or maybe he's just a giant, lanky dork with a weird looking face."

Kendall stared at him and Carlos looked away, cursing himself for being stupid. But Kendall didn't say anything which was probably worse than anything else. Carlos swallowed and not knowing what else to do, he resumed rubbing Kendall's feet, thumb pressing into the ball of Kendall's foot.

He only looked up when Kendall finally spoke, "Sounds like a real catch." The words sounded like they were supposed to be teasing but Kendall's voice came out more stilted than anything else.

Carlos nodded, sure that he had given it away. Kendall knew but didn't feel the same so now everything was going to be awkward. It was going to be the big giant pink elephant in the room that everyone saw but didn't mention. "Yeah, he is…" he said softly, face feeling too hot. He cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. "So, what about you? You think you could ever fall for a guy?"

Kendall shrugged slightly, "I don't know. I'd like to think that I wouldn't matter as long as I loved them and they loved me, ya know?"

Carlos glanced up and swallowed when he caught Kendall's eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments before it became too much for Carlos and he averted his gaze, looking back down at Kendall's feet. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

><p>Carlos bound into the apartment, two smoothies in hand. His eyes immediately focused in on Kendall sitting on the couch and he beamed, "Hey, Kendall! What's up? I brought you a smoothie. Strawberry. Your favorite, right?"<p>

"Thanks," Kendall said shortly, glancing up at Carlos briefly before turning back toward the television. It wasn't on.

Carlos frowned and set the two cups on the table, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You sound like you're kind of angry," Carlos pushed tentatively. Kendall had been fine that morning, happy even. Things hadn't gotten as awkward as Carlos thought it'd get between them. It' been almost two weeks and Kendall seemed to have dropped the subject altogether. He didn't ask about the guy Carlos liked anymore and while Carlos was a little bummed about it, he didn't let it get him down. He and Kendall spent pretty much all of their spare time together and the blond seemed happy. That was all Carlos really needed.

So he was really confused with Kendall's current behavior. Maybe Jo had tried to call him again, he reasoned with himself.

Kendall shrugged, but his jaw was clenched and he was glaring at the blank TV screen. "Why would I be angry? It's not like my best friend _lied_to me or anything?"

Okay, so maybe not Jo. James or Logan instead. He wondered what either of the boys had done to piss Kendall off. "Who lied to you?"

Kendall suddenly flew to his feet, spinning around to face Carlos and flung his arms out, "You did! _You _lied to me!"

Carlos' eyes widened and he took a step back, shaking his head, "What? No, I didn't! When?"

Kendall jabbed his finger in the air angrily at Carlos, "You said you didn't want anyone to know who you liked but James and Logan know!"

Carlos immediately began to panic, his heart pounding in his chest, "Did they-did they tell you?"

"No," Kendall said petulantly, bottom lip protruding slightly and he looked away, "But they laughed at me and James called me an idiot. James!" Kendall once again flung his arms out in outrage, causing Carlos to laugh both in relief and because Kendall seemed really indignant about James calling him an idiot. Kendall scowled, "It's not funny, Carlos. Why did you lie to me?"

Kendall seemed to deflate then and Carlos knew that he had really hurt him. Carlos sighed, "I didn't. I didn't lie, okay? I didn't want Logan or James to know either, but they found out and…"He shrugged as he trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"Then why keep it a secret from me? If they both know, why didn't you just tell me?"

Carlos hated that betrayed tone in Kendall's voice. He hated even more that _he_ was the one that put it there. He closed his eyes tightly, "I _can't_, Kendall. You'll hate me."

Kendall scoffed, "I could never hate you, Carlos. Just tell me!"

"I can't!"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do! It's just-"

"Then why? Is it someone _I _hate?" Kendall's eyes widened and his face screwed up in disgust, "God, is it Jett?"

Carlos' eyes widened and he made a face in return, "No way! It's not Jett."

"Then who?" Kendall had been moving forward, closing the distance between them with each exchange of words until he was standing directly in front of Carlos, staring down at him earnestly. Carlos looked up at him, regretting it the moment he saw the sad expression on Kendall's face. He hated denying the blond anything, but the thought of Kendall rejecting him scared him. He knew he needed to say _something_though.

"I can't- It's just- I don't-" Words fumbled out of his mouth and he didn't even know what he wanted to say. He looked up into Kendall's expectant face and did the only thing he could think of. Reaching up quickly and grabbing Kendall by the back of the neck, he ignored the look of surprise on the other boy's face and yanked him down. He leaned up as he did so and met Kendall's lips with his own in a brief, soft kiss. "It's you, okay? I like you," he said and let Kendall go, stepping away as he looked down as their shoes.

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" He glanced up as he started to speak, only for his words to die in his throat as Kendall reached forward, hand landing on the side of his neck, thumb resting against his jaw. He blinked up at Kendall, breath growing heavy as the blond closed the distance between them, tilting Carlos' head up slightly as he leaned down, pressing their lips together again.

The kiss was just as brief as the first, Kendall's lips gently pressing against Carlos' before he pulled away, "I like you too," he said breathlessly.

Carlos blinked in surprise, "Since-since when?"

"Since you told me you liked someone and it felt like someone punched me in the chest. Why do you think I've been trying to figure out who it was? I wanted to put a face to the guy I hated. But apparently I've been hating myself," Kendall grinned as he finished, a dopey expression on his face that made Carlos' chest swell with affection.

He grinned widely and pulled Kendall down again, lips meeting once more. This kiss was different than the others, though, more urgent, lips moving against each other with a purpose as hands found Carlos' waist and squeezed gently. Kendall pressed forward, hands guiding Carlos stumbling backwards until the back of his legs hit the couch. He grunted in surprise and pulled away, panting lightly as he glanced over his shoulder quickly.

Kendall turned Carlos face back towards him and cupped Carlos' face in both hands. Carlos reached up and wrapped his hands around Kendall's wrists as Kendall caressed his cheeks with his thumbs, "So, it was really me this whole time?"

Carlos chuckled, "Who else could it have been?"

"I thought-I thought _maybe_but I didn't want to get my hopes up."

"James is right."

"What?"

"You really are an idiot."

Kendall laughed, one hand sliding around to cup the back of Carlos' neck as he leaned down, lips meeting Carlos' once more. His other hand slid down to wrap around Carlos' waist, pulling him flush against Kendall's body. They both moaned softly at the contact and Carlos clutched at the back of Kendall's shirt, fisting the fabric tightly as Kendall tilted his head back further.

Carlos couldn't believe this was happening. Kendall wanted him, Kendall _liked_him. He kept waiting to wake up or for Kendall to push him away and laugh at him. But it was too vivid to be a dream and he knew Kendall would never mess with his emotions like that.

Kendall pulled away with a small gasp a moment later and Carlos reached back, glancing over his shoulder briefly until he clutched at the back of the couch with one hand and lowered himself. He grabbed onto the hem of Kendall's shirt, tugging gently to pull the blond down with him. He lay back, feet still firmly on the ground and Kendall climbed on top of him, knees hugging Carlos' hips as he leaned over him. Carlos licked his lips nervously as Kendall placed his hands on either side of his head and leaned down.

"So you really think my face is weird looking?"

Carlos blinked then chuckled, not expecting Kendall to bring that up at that exact moment. He brought his hand up, forefinger and thumb held an inch apart, "Just a little," he said then chuckled again at the indignant noise Kendall made. He reached up and ran his fingertip along the bridge of Kendall's nose, "I like your face though," he added, cupping the side of Kendall's face gently as he leaned up to capture his lips in a kiss once more. He felt Kendall smile against his mouth, before he felt Kendall part his lips, tongue sliding along Carlos' bottom lip.

Carlos felt a rush of warmth gather low in his stomach as Kendall's tongue slipped between his parted lips, tentatively brushing against his own. He let out a small noise and clutched at Kendall's waist, shifting slightly under the other boy. He heard Kendall chuckle before he pulled away, placing a kiss on his cheek, then another on his jaw. Carlos turned his face to the side as Kendall kissed down his neck, letting out a small moan, fingers digging into Kendall's sides as the blond sucked gently on his collar bone.

Kendall pulled away suddenly, caressing the side of Carlos' neck with his thumb, "This is the first time you've done something like this, huh?"

Carlos swallowed thickly and nodded, "Yeah, kinda."

"If I'm going too fast, tell me. We can slow down."

Carlos huffed out a laugh, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this, you're definitely _not_going too fast."

Kendall chuckled, smiling down at Carlos softly before he swooped down to reconnect their lips.

* * *

><p>Carlos didn't know how long they stayed on the couch kissing like that, but before he knew it, he could hear the door opening and James and Logan voices' halting abruptly. Kendall immediately rolled off of him, standing up and adjusting his clothes while Carlos sat up, blinking in bewilderment until he focused on James and Logan grinning at them.<p>

"So you've finally pulled your head out of your ass, huh, Kendall?"

"Shut it, James," Kendall grumbled making Carlos chuckle lightly as he got to his feet. He reached out and grasp onto Kendall's hand, looking up at Kendall as he slotted their fingers together. Kendall smiled down at him and gently squeezed his hand.

"I guess slow and steady wins the race after all. Told you, James," Logan said, elbowing James gently in the arm.

"Shut up, Logan. My plan would've worked too," James groused, sending them all a sullen look.

Kendall laughed, "What plan?"

"Tight pants," Carlos said, grinning widely.

Kendall arched an eyebrow as he looked down at Carlos before he slowly turned to face James and Logan questioningly, "Tight pants?"

"Tell me, Kendall, does Carlos not have a great ass or what? These two think I'm weird," James said gesturing in annoyance at Logan and Carlos.

"Can we not talk about my butt right now?" Carlos glanced up at Kendall, a blush spreading across his face when the other boy leaned back to look behind him, brows raised curiously. He quickly reached back and placed his hands over his butt, turning away from the blond.

Kendall arched an eyebrow at him and grinned, "Let me see it."

"No, you'll just encourage James' weirdness."

"I'm not being weird! It's perfectly okay for a guy to check out another guy's ass. I'll check out anyone's ass that I want to! I will not be subdued by society!"

Logan stared at James incredulously, brows furrowed as he shook his head slightly, "Do you even _hear_the words coming out of your mouth?"

Kendall laughed and leaned down to whisper, "I'll just see it later, you know." Carlos looked away from the other two boys and found Kendall grinning at him. He still couldn't believe that this was happening, that Kendall actually wanted him. And as embarrassing as it was, he was actually happy that Kendall wanted to check him out, just not in front of James and Logan.

"So, do you think we'll have to switch rooms now," Logan suddenly said and everyone stopped to look at him.

Carlos' eyes widened, his stomach twisting into a knot, "Why would we have to switch rooms?"

"Well, I don't think Mrs. Knight will want you two in the same room now that you're, you know, together."

Carlos looked at Kendall and caught his eye. He'd never thought about it before because the idea of Kendall returning his feelings had seemed so impossible. "I don't see why it should matter," Kendall said slowly, turning to look at the other two, "I mean, it's not like we're going to have sex with her right down the hall or anything."

"Well, just in case, I call dibs on Kendall," James said.

Logan turned towards James, brows furrowed in annoyance, "What? You can't call dibs on Kendall."

"Uh, hello, I just did."

"Fuck you, I call dibs on Kendall," Logan said, shoving at James' chest. James stumbled back slightly, a shocked look on his face before he shoved at Logan in return.

Carlos pouted as he watched the two boys' argument slowly turn into a physical fight. He wondered why neither of them seemed to want to room with him. He was fun, right? He looked up when Kendall laughed and suddenly his hand was in the blonds once more, fingers laced together, "Come on," he said, pulling Carlos behind him as he walked around the other two boys and led the way to their room.

Once inside, Kendall closed and locked the door, turning around to lean on it. He watched him for a second until Carlos felt his face heat up in a warm blush, "What," he questions, fidgeting slightly.

Kendall grinned and pushed away from the door, closing the distance between them to place his hand on Carlos' waist, "So…how long have you liked me?"

Carlos smiled, reaching up to lightly trace Kendall's jaw, "I've always loved you, Kendall."

Kendall's brows disappeared into his hair, his eyes widening slightly, "Love," he repeated questioningly, tone heavy with disbelief.

Carlos blushed, but he wasn't ashamed and he didn't care if Kendall knew how deep his feelings were, "Yeah, love. I love you," he said, a small smile on his face.

Kendall stared down at him until Carlos' smile faded and his heart was pounding in his chest, anticipating a rejection of some kind. But then Kendall smiled and swooped down, capturing Carlos' lips with his own and everything was okay again. More than okay, actually, because Kendall wanted him and after years of being satisfied with just being Kendall's friend, Carlos finally had a chance at making Kendall happy the way he wanted to. And that's all that Carlos wanted because as long as Kendall was happy, nothing else mattered.


End file.
